Sticking Together
by yur.makin'.me.sober
Summary: This time Reno's bitten off more than he can chew and the bastards not sure he's going to make it. Just when the redhead feels hes ready to give up, someone unexpected pushes him through it. Another day, a new friendship, a lasting bond. A drabble about how Reno got his cat. One Shot. Complete. Reno and his cat.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, but the ideas and writings are my own.

Someone once asked me if my RP Reno like animals. Of course the asshole said "No," but deep down I knew the bastard loved animals. So much in fact that I even went on to say that my RP Reno kind of owned a cat. It was a stray that he sort of took in. He fed the little bastard, but the window to his apartment was always left open so the little guy could come and go as he pleased. He the redhead went away on long missions, he had a neighbor he asked to check in on the tike, just to make sure he still has food and water. I also figured that no one knew that Reno had this cat except for Rude and Yuffie... maybe Tseng. People loved the idea and the cat sort of took on a character and personality of its own.

This is a little one shot drabble of how Reno met his cat and how the two ended up together. Very cute and sweet... or so I've been told. Anyway, ENJOY!

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><p><span><strong>Sticking Together<strong>

_Drip._

God, he was losing a lot of blood. It had been a long time since he was in this much pain.

_Drip. Drip._

That didn't matter right now. He needed to focus on finding a spot to hide out so he could recoup.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

His vision was starting to falter. Fuck. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip._

He just needed to rest for a second. Just one second. Just one second to regain some strength. Just a second, he promised.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Fade to black._

Unable to continue running anymore, the Turk stumbled along the alley wall, sliding down the rough bricks until his body hit the ground, unable to hold himself up anymore due to the vast amounts of blood he was losing. Once his wounded frame hit the grime coated pavement, Reno could no longer resist the temptation to close his eyes. His spirit and pride were viciously yelling at him to get up and keep moving, but no matter how hard his body tried, it had nothing left to give.

_Meow._

The sudden noise, a nose that seemed so out of place from the pain induced nightmare that the redhead was currently experiencing miraculously brought the blood drenched Turk back to his senses, making the bastard open his eyes and fight through his swimming vision. He scaned the area as best he could, attempting to find the source of the misfit noise.

_Murow._

Once the Turk was able to focus he saw a small cat in front of him, sitting down and giving him a most potent glare as she went talk to him. Reno's brain could hardly process what was going on and, being on the verge of tipping over that edge of no return, the redhead used what little strength he had to reach out and pet the animal. That seemed to satisfy the creature and the little fur ball went to rub against the redhead's hand in return, purring happily. Hey… if he was gunna go, this wasn't a bad moment to end with.

However that was not what the cat had in mind.

Seeing that the bastard still had some strength left in him, the tiny cat sauntered away and out of reach, stopping some few feet away before turning around to look back at the weakened and near death Turk. When the stubborn idiot wasn't following, the cat called out to him.

_Mur-owow._

Everything was still fuzzy and it all seemed a bit surreal. Was this actually happening? Was the cat talking to him? Was there even really a cat to begin with? There was no way. This was all just a hallucination. It had to be.

_Mer-row!_

As if reading his mind, the cat yowled loudly back at the redhead, as if confirming that this was indeed happening and it was not a dream or a hallucination and to get off his damn ass and fucking follow her.

A sense of determination kicked in and Reno used what last remaining strength he had to pull himself to his feet, letting a soft muffled scream escape into the alley way as the bastard forced his body through the blinding pain to move.

_Left foot._

_Right foot._

The bastard stumbled down the alley again, falling against the wall as the asshole did his best to follow the damn cat. The animal seemed to wait for him and every time the bastard thought he couldn't move another muscle, that he couldn't take another step, the cat offered up encouragement. The cat seemed to have a destination already in mind and where she was taking him wasn't too long of a journey, but it was long enough to seem like forever to the Turk, at least in his current state.

_Left foot, right foot._

Finally the little guardian angel led the almost spent assassin into an abandoned where house, deep into a maze of cargo boxes, finally coming to stop in a secluded corner. The boxes that made up this little bunker were covered with dust, obviously undisturbed for some time.

Yes, this would do.

Bandaging himself as best he could with what little strength he had left, Reno finally allow himself to give into the temptation of sleep. His swimming vision slowly turn black as he closed his eyes and the steady thumping of his heart beat faded in his ears as the lucky son of a bitch drifted off into slumber.

* * *

><p>Light.<p>

It was bright…

… and there was a odd wet sensation against his nose.

Cracking his eyes open, Reno was greeted with a familiar friend.

_Meow._

She was licking his nose, attempting to rouse the injured asshole from his slumber.

With a snort, feeling much better after a round of sleep, Reno stretched out his shaky hand and pet his new found friend. The cat leaned into the affection but quickly scamper off out of sight. That was a bit disappointing. Not long thereafter however, the fluffy creature returned, carrying a small dead mouse in her mouth, which was promptly brought over to the redhead and placed on his chest.

The bastard couldn't help but smirk. At least someone cared… even if it was just a cat.

Still, all sentiment aside, Reno knew that he needed to get out of the area, he had already lingered for far too long. Getting up, still in a lot of pain but his brain in a better state to deal and push through it, the redhead took the mouse and went to pet the cat one more time before going to make his exit.

_Meow._

After a few steps, Reno turned around to see that his little savior was following him. Now that the asshole could actually see clearly and was able to focus, the redhead noticed just how thin the little bugger was. The Turk was able to see the cats ribs through her fur and she was so small she looked like a kitten despite obviously being a full grown cat.

The asshole couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it.

Walking back to the animal, Reno let out a defeated sigh and fought back a wince as he went to bend down and pick up the damn helpless animal.

"Come on, yo."

Stuffing the creature in his jacket, Reno made his way back to his apartment where he cleaned up the little cat, giving her random bits of meat that the redhead had laying about in his fridge before going to take a shower himself and properly take care of his injuries. Once out of the shower, the assassin's energy once again spent, the bastard literally collapsed on his couch, his eyes automatically closing as there was nothing left to keep them open.

He was safe and he could relax.

And so was the cat… who had managed to crawl her way over and settle down in a warm ball on top of the bastards chest.

"Thanks," the redhead snorted out, resting a hand on the cat before finally going to fall asleep.

Apparently Reno had a new friend. Slum rats had to stick together after all.


End file.
